Accuracy vs. Precision in Science

Accuracy vs. Precision in Science

Read each question carefully and answer to the best of your ability. This worksheet will help you understand the difference between accuracy and precision in scientific measurements.

In science, the terms accuracy and precision are often used interchangeably, but they have distinct meanings. Understanding the difference is crucial for conducting reliable experiments and interpreting data.

1. Which term describes how close a measurement is to the true or accepted value?

2. Which term describes how close repeated measurements are to each other?

3. A measurement can be precise without being accurate.

4. An accurate measurement is always precise.

5. Imagine you are throwing darts at a dartboard. Describe a scenario where your throws are precise but not accurate. Use the image as a reference.

6. A scientist measures the mass of an object three times and gets results of 10.2g, 10.3g, and 10.1g. The actual mass of the object is 15.0g. Are these measurements accurate, precise, or both? Explain your reasoning.

7. When a measuring instrument consistently gives readings that are close to each other, it is considered to be  .

8. If a measurement is very close to the actual value, it is considered to be  .

9. A faulty scale that always reads 2 kg higher than the actual weight will produce   but not   measurements.